low, cooperation is less likely to be of service than where the opposite
is the case. Whatever enterprise is started men experienced in that
business should be consulted as to the location of the business, the
stock and equipment needed, the operating capital necessary, etc.

Preliminary organization should likewise be handled by a committee which
might estimate the number of persons who would become members, the
service each could contribute to the society, etc. Meetings should be
held to educate the group in both cooperation and the special need of
the undertaking. For this purpose many educational bulletins may be
obtained from the Cooperative League of America and other reliable
sources.

Actual organization of the society consists of incorporation, election
of officers, the adoption of by-laws, and the immediate adoption of a
sound system of bookkeeping. No action undertaken before incorporation
has any legal effect on an incorporated body, so early incorporation is
desirable. The New York State law requires that all firms using the word
"cooperation" incorporate under one of the three state cooperative laws.
Outside of farmers' cooperatives practically all cooperative societies
are incorporated under the Stock Law known as Article III. Copies of
these laws may be obtained from the State Department of Farms and
Markets. The Department has prepared simple forms for incorporation
under this law. When these are filled out and sworn to and the papers
filed with the Secretary of State and the County Clerk, the society may
legally begin business. The fee of the Secretary of State is $30. A
board of directors is named in the incorporation papers and this board,
through a paid manager, will transact the society's business. Model
by-laws, upon which the by-laws controlling the organization may be
based, may be obtained from the State Department of Farms and Markets or